Galway, Ireland

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My visit to Galway was very short. I stayed for two nights, but went on a daytrip to Cliffs of Moher and Burren in between. I visited The Collegiate Church of St Nicholas and took a walk along River Corrib to Galway Cathedral, but I didn’t have time to visit the City Museum or take a stroll along the seaside promenade to Salthill. From Galway I travelled on to Connemara to stay there for a few days, but it is also possible to take an organized day tour from Galway to Connemara.

Galway has around 75 000 inhabitants and many of them are students. The city is known for all its festivals and cultural events, and pubs where traditional live music is often played.

Galway evolved from a small fishing village situated at the mouth of River Corrib. In the 13th century the town got its first fortified walls and in 1396 king Richard gave the power to 14 merchant families, families loyal to the crown. It is after those 14 families that Galway got the name City of the Tribes. With a natural harbour trade flourished with Portugal and Spain for centuries, until Galway was besieged by Cromwell in 1651.

My Galway page.

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Galway city is a wonderful place to go for a few days. Great atmosphere and full of students, so plenty of cheap places to stay and to eat. When the sun is shinning its nice to walk down the shopping street which are full of clothes shops, coffee docks, restaurants and other weird and wonderful things. Galway Arts festival takes place in July and the famous Galway races begin towards in August. You will find plenty of accommodation and places to eat from cheap eats to expensive restaurants. Don't forgot a walk along the beach in Salthill and visit one of the many pubs for traditional Irish music.

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Great town --- good location to base self to see surrounding sights. Friendly people, safe, good transportation. We loved it! It was a beautiful trip. Take a day tour or drive out on your own --- the countryside along the coast is lovely.

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The third biggest city of Ireland, after Dublin and Limerick, is Galway. The city has 70.000 inhabitants, of which a big part are students due to the university and the highschool that are situated there. Galway is located in the West of the island between Lough Corrib and the Gulf of Galway, where the Corrib river ends in the ocean.

The city is a perfect place to start trip from, to Connemara, the Burren National Park and the Aran Islands. Everything is very close. But the city itself is worth a visit too. It has a very nice old city centre with small cobble stoned streets with old houses and lots of popular pubs and restaurants.

The most famous sight in Galway is the so called Spanish Arch: a 15th century remaining from the time that the city was an important tradepost. And besides this it also has a nice old cathedral in the centre. But the most important attraction in Galway it the great nightlife with its many pubs where there is live music every single night, and the many music festivals that are helt here with only typical Irish music.

For more information about this city, you can check out my Galway-pages.

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Galway is a university town, so this place has lots of young people around! There are quite a few nice architectural and historical sights to see in Galway, but the most fascinating part is the life!!! Especially nightlife!!! We did enjoy both: we looked at turn of the century houses, went inside their beautiful old church, stepped through the Spanish Arch and looked around the harbour area. And of course we went inside some of their lovely old pubs and listened to some great Irish music! Great memories!

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Galway is a nice city with a great nightlife because it is the head city for students. But it is mainly a great starting point for all that is to see in the stunning surroundings like the Aran Islands,Cliffs of Moher and a lot more.
There are beautiful promenades along the harbour and seaside for great walks at sunset!

It is very nice to make a walk through the pedestrian area, starting at the main square. From here spoke J.F. Kennedy when he went to Galway. Turn then left and you stay almost in front of the Spanish Arch next to the Galway City Museum.
Right now (may 2005) the main square is closed for works and the same is for the Galway City Museum.
The spanish Arch was built within the city walls, that now are already completely dissapeared.

As per my mind, Galway is the furthermost northern capital of Ireland.
We were told this is the city with the highest increment of population for over three years in the entire European Union.
From here there are many excursions you can make.

Galway is a beautiful city, it has a vibrant nightlife and fantastic shopping!

I visited Galway twice, first time was on a work weekend at Christmas and so we diddnt really experience much else here apart from the shops and bars!

I am led to believe that there are some amazing golf courses in these parts too!

Connemara is a great area also to explore, its scarily deserted and the true Ireland!

Galway is arguably the most happening place in the Republic after Dublin. For a city its size, Galway has a bustling city life and excursions to Connemara en the Cliffs of Moher (see pic) are great opportunities.

The central location and excellent tourist facilities make Galway THE place to go in the West of Ireland. You won't be bored there. Restaurant and pub life is sprawling, shopping opportunities are great and the surrounding scenery is to die for.

Make sure you go out for dinner and drinks here. It's fabulous to see that a small-sized city on the edge of the world can pull off such a cosmopolitan air!